Collide
by mous1elousi3
Summary: AU. Forced out of the house by a demon-cat, grad student Kuchiki Byakuya has a life-changing run-in.


**_A/N: So, this came out of nowhere and I just had to go along with. I dare you to read it without hearing that song, you know what I'm talking about, going through your head. _**

**_Disclaimer: Yeah, no, Kubo does not do romance...or so he claims..._**

"**Collide"**

This whole thing was Yoruichi's fault, because _of course_ it was.

Byakuya had told that cat demon in human flesh—family friend and his childhood tormentor—over and _over_ again that the _only_ reason he had returned to Todai was to get his master's degree and move up the ladder at Kuchiki Incorporated. His grandfather Ginrei was counting on him, not his uncle-in-law Kouga, to take over the company one day and he was determined not to disappoint. In fact, his entire life's path had been so designed to get him there, the _best_ schools, the _right_ friends, the _proper_ behaviour expected of the son of an old and wealthy Japanese family with Imperial links.

He did not regret Hisana, not for an instant, no matter how utterly she had destroyed his heart.

So no, he was not interested in parties or clubs or anything that had nothing to do with achieving that goal.

Yoruichi, a professor in criminal law, did not care about any of that. She just barged into his apartment one afternoon, with her motorcycle helmet under one arm, a colourful poster in the other and said, "Get dressed, Byakuya-bo, we're going out."

Byakuya did not look up at her from the project he was working on, a _very important_ one he hoped to use in his final presentation, and said, "How did you get in here? No."

"I have a key," she replied, walking over. She pushed his laptop closed and smacked the flyer down on top of it. "We're going here, tonight. So get up and get dressed."

"_Todai's Persimmon Traditional Theatre presents 'Fire Horse Maiden: A Tragic Romance!' Starring the lovely 'Suzumebachi' as Yaoya Oshichi, our ill-fated heroine! 'Hyourinmaru' as her intended, Ikuta Shonosuke! And introducing Professor Kyouraku Shunsui as the Magistrate! Hurry and get your tickets early before they are all gone!"_

The first two names meant nothing to Byakuya but at the last he lifted an eyebrow and asked, "Kyouraku-san is acting?" Professor Kyouraku was the head of the economic law department and another family friend, though the family had tried to keep him and Byakuya apart as much as possible. Connected though the man was the last thing the Kuchiki wanted was him to train Byakuya to become a playboy.

Yoruichi wrinkled her nose and replied, "Yes…well, he did not look too bad in rehearsals. But I don't care about any of that, two of my students are in the play and we need to be there for moral support."

"Poor Sui-Feng," said Byakuya. He was very sure that the tiny half-Chinese girl had not wanted to be in the play at all but if Yoruichi asked her to she would do it. For Yoruichi the girl would do _anything_.

Yoruichi tapped Byakuya on the head with the flyer and snapped, "Hey now, she wanted to do it. Now come on and get dressed or we're going to be late."

Instead of standing up, Byakuya sat back in his chair and folded his arms at his chest. "No," he said again.

Yoruichi lifted an eyebrow. He crossed his ankles. There was a minute of silence and then Yoruichi shifted her weight just a little on her feet. Byakuya knew that move, that look. He released his arms and a heavy sigh and said, "Where is this play again?"

Half an hour later and Byakuya had had his worst fears confirmed. The play sucked _terribly_. The costuming and set designs were lovely, the script surprisingly well-written, the dialogue impeccable but the acting…was dreadful, and that was putting it lightly. Sui-Feng recited her lines in monotone, Kyouraku was overdoing it and while the young male lead called 'Hyourinmaru' did a passable job, he was still cold, emotionless and apparently entirely uninterested in being there. Byakuya was not surprised. 'Hyourinmaru' was actually Hitsugaya Toshiro, minor celebrity on campus as that child prodigy who completed no less than three undergraduate degrees in the time that most people were still blushing and fretting over whether their seatmate liked them in high school. Surely the boy had better things to do than this.

When he could take it no more, Byakuya leaned over to Yoruichi and whispered, "If you will excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom."

Without looking away from the stage, Yoruichi whispered back, "Do you want me to help?"

Byakuya glared at her, to which she smiled, still not looking at him, and shifted so that he could pass. Just as he got into the aisle though, she said, "If you're not back here in precisely five minutes I will come looking for you…even if you're still on the seat."

Byakuya said nothing and walked away.

Somehow—meaning either Professor Shihouin or Professor Kyouraku had arranged it—the theatre group had managed to score a lecture hall for the performance. Well, it was after classes anyway so Byakuya guessed the authorities did not mind it that much, but really. How was it that he managed to be surrounded by people with a complete disregard for rules and authority? Of course, if he was being honest with himself, thought Byakuya as he walked right out of the hall and down the street heading nowhere in particular, he was a bit of a rebel too.

A flash of bright violet-blue eyes in a heart-shaped face framed by a head of messy black hair filled his mind for a moment. He stopped walking and squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to dwell on it and then somehow, despite the fact that no vehicles went this way, he was run into by a freight train.

He hit the ground and his head hard. Hisana's image burst into stars that swirled before his eyes even when he reopened them.

"_Oh no! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"_

He blinked a few times to clear the stars and then looked up into a summer sky in mid-morning. No, that was not quite right. He blinked again and the sky became a pair of bright blue eyes set in a very pretty oval-shaped face under a curtain of long, wavy gold hair that smelled of something flowery as it swept over his face. Then the face vanished as the young woman it belonged to scrambled off of him with another _"Oops!"_ having just realised that she might be crushing him.

She had not been, in fact, but Byakuya thought that he had not noticed because of the pain at the back of his head.

She appeared over him again, this time with her hand out to help him stand. Byakuya waved it off but she still bent to help him sit upright and then immediately began patting him lightly about the head to look for injuries. She babbled the whole time.

"I am _so_ sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going, I think the sole of my shoe is coming off and then Hisagi is just bugging me about that article he wanted for the paper, but I'm late for the play and if I don't show up after I made Toshiro do this he will _never_ forgive me. I did not see you at all! Are you alright? Nothing is broken is it?"

When she touched the exact spot at the back of his head, Byakuya winced and then grasped her arm and pulled it away.

"I am fine. It is nothing," he said. He was not really sure about that though, and an experimental pat with his own hand confirmed that yes, there was an egg-sized bump growing there and oh boy was he going to have a headache in the morning.

The woman had not moved away from him and it took him a moment to realise that he was still holding onto her hand. He released it at once, only for her to put it back to his head and say, "Oh no…I think we should get this checked out. I think we should go to the hospital."

He shifted away from her hand, wincing at the pain that followed the movement and looked her in the face. Yes, she was still very pretty. Her lips were full and pouty and very pink and there was a mole on her chin. Right, so he hit his head harder than he thought. Still, he dropped his gaze away from her for safety and said, "I am fine, um…"

"Matsumoto Rangiku," she replied. "Criminology."

"Matsumoto-san," said Byakuya. She had a pretty name too, Rangiku, like the kimono pattern of spreading chrysanthemums. Byakuya's mother had had one of those and one of his earliest memories was of the bright mix of crimson, white and gold on the fabric rushing into his face as he ran into her legs. "What I really need to do is get back inside before my absence is noted."

He moved to stand and much to his chagrin she insisted on helping him. He was grateful for that a moment later though when he nearly fell into her. His head felt light and black spots appeared in his vision.

"Steady there, sailor, let's give your legs time to get used to the land…and I think I'm going to have to insist on taking you to the hospital. Don't worry my car's right over there and I have a friend who works in the ER. She'll patch you up and get you back out here in no time at all," said Rangiku.

Byakuya had no choice but to let her lead him away. Well it was better than sitting through that dreadful play anyway.

Rangiku did have a car, a tiny sport that did nothing for his injuries with its stiff suspension and bucket seats but got them quickly to the hospital. And she also did have a friend in the ER, Kotetsu Isane, a tall, silver-haired young woman with a permanent blush painted on her cheeks and the apparent inability to look him in the eyes. She wasted no time in getting Byakuya a bed and after a few quick scans determined that he had a slight concussion and needed to spend the night.

Wonderful, thought Byakuya with a groan, this evening just kept getting better and better. Damn that Yoruichi Shihouin!

When Isane left to get the necessary paperwork, Rangiku reappeared and settled into a chair near his bed. Byakuya refused to look at her, he did not want her to apologise again, but when she spoke she asked, "So, what's your name? You look familiar."

That was not surprising. Byakuya's face had been appearing on magazine covers and on TV from time to time since he was a baby.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," he replied and waited for the recognition to hit her. And waited, and _waited_ and just when he thought she might have somehow choked on her tongue in her astonishment she said, "Oh that's right, you're the guy that Professor Shihouin keeps talking about. You sure were cute when you were little."

Byakuya turned to her with a wide-eyed look, alarmed, but Rangiku was not looking at him. Instead she was going through her phone and continued, "Not that you're not as attractive now, have you ever modelled? I have a friend who would just die if he could get pictures of you—ah, here it is, Professor Shihouin. I better let her know you're alright." Then she got up and walked out of the room before he could say anything.

It took a moment for Byakuya to realise that she had completely ignored the significance of his name in favour of talking about his connection to Yoruichi. That damn woman, Byakuya was sure she had been sharing childhood pictures with her classes and now Rangiku was going to think he was some kind of spoiled child.

Not that he cared what she thought anyway, because she had run him over and put him in the hospital and maybe he should sue her. In fact, he should interrogate her about the pictures and see if he could somehow force Yoruichi to stop showing them. Ha, unlikely, but he was not going to give up.

A moment later Rangiku returned and seeing him still sitting upright, said, "Hey now, you heard Isane. Lie down, lie down, you have to get some rest." Then she walked over to the bed and pressed him down into it.

At the touch of her hand, Byakuya felt his heartbeat speed up. Surprised, he started to sit upright again and Rangiku said, "Hey now, didn't you hear what I said? Besides, Professor Shihouin's coming over in a few minutes and I'll be out of your hair so just let me take care of you until she does okay? I feel really awful about what happened. I am so sorry."

Byakuya lay back and decided not to protest. That hand on his chest, warm and soft, had a will of steel behind it. He supposed that her upper body strength had to be good though, considering the size of her chest.

Well hello libido, where have you been these last five years? Byakuya decided against sudden movements and laying as still as possible so she would not have to come over to him. No need to put himself under any further unnecessary…strain.

It took days, though really just another twenty minutes, for Yoruichi to show up and with her, surprisingly, was the young male lead.

"Oh, Byakuya-bo, are you alright? I heard that you've got a slight concussion?" asked Yoruichi, hurrying to his bedside.

Rangiku stood from her seat but went no further, nervously twisting her hands before her.

"I am fine," said Byakuya. "They just want to keep me for observation despite my assurances."

"You nearly fainted," said Rangiku. All eyes turned to her and she dropped her gaze to her feet, face pink.

It was then that the young lead snapped at her, gaze hard and scowling, "Nee-san, you, what the hell did you do?"

She was his sister? Well that explained what she had been babbling about earlier. Byakuya had assumed she was a fan or a girlfriend or something. Of course they looked nothing alike.

"Oh Shiro-chan, it was just an accident. I didn't see him while I was running and—"

He cut her off, still glaring, "Don't call me that! And what did I tell you about texting and walking at the same time? You never listen, you know. Please tell me that you're not still doing that while driving?"

"Well no, I'm not stupid, but there was no one around when I got out of the car and I'm really sorry," said Rangiku, this time looking at Byakuya.

Byakuya had decided to forgive her a long time ago and said, "It is fine. I am not seriously hurt."

Then Toshiro looked at him and said, bowing, "I am Hitsugaya Toshiro. I apologise again, on behalf of my sister. She's smart but she can be a bit…unobservant. We will pay any additional costs due to this accident."

"Oh?" asked Yoruichi.

Byakuya turned to her to find that she was staring at Rangiku with an apparently blank expression but a very calculating look in her eyes. Byakuya knew that look. He _did not _like that look.

Rangiku quickly nodded and said, "Oh, yes, I know how serious a concussion can be. Got one myself during a party, silly story, not very funny, you don't need to hear the details. I just want to make sure that he's alright."

Oh no, thought Byakuya, this was not going to end well. He had confirmation of this when Yoruichi turned back to him with that evil smile, the one that showed her extra-long canines and said, "As you well know, Matsumoto-san, a concussion is a very serious injury. One that can have unexpected consequences even weeks after the fact."

"Professor Shihouin…" said Byakuya, lifting a hand to her.

She danced out of his reach and continued, "Poor Byakuya here lives alone off-campus, in that nice apartment building that opened recently. I wanted him to stay with me but he's a grown man, he says and he refuses my company." Here she faked an unhappy expression, eyes downcast, and continued, "I would hate it if something happened and no one was there to help him."

"It was a _slight_ concussion," said Byakuya.

"Still a concussion," said Yoruichi, tone momentarily serious. And then she continued to Rangiku, "I think it would be best if you checked up on him from time to time in the next few weeks. I can't do it since my schedule is impossible, but I'm sure you can find the time between classes," said Yoruichi, ignoring him.

"I'll do it," said Rangiku, without hesitation. "I have a project coming up but I'm sure I can find the time."

Byakuya sighed. Yoruichi cheered, and then leaning over on the pretence of fluffing his pillow whispered, "Lighten up, she's one of my best students and she's very pretty. What have you got to lose?"

Byakuya narrowed his eyes at her, glaring, and whispered back, "Are you…_you are_, you're trying to set me up with the woman who nearly _killed_ me!"

Yoruichi rolled her eyes and replied, "Don't be so melodramatic, Rangiku is harmless and currently not dating anyone. Now hush and let the pretty girl take care of you for a few days. Right now she's feeling rather guilty and it would be stupid not to take advantage of that."

"Shihouin Yoruichi, have you forgotten who I am, who you are?" he asked.

She shrugged and replied, "You're a young man in his late twenties who hasn't gotten laid in like five years. Play your cards right and this will be the best week of your life."

Byakuya glared at her, scandalised but before he could respond, Yoruichi straightened and said aloud, "Then it's settled. Please take care of him, Matsumoto-san."

**0o0**

Rangiku and Toshiro had left shortly after that but the next day around noon; Rangiku was back again, as promised to take Byakuya back to his apartment. Byakuya wanted to wave her off, insist that he could probably walk and that it would do him fine, but it was chilly out and Rangiku had a car and had brought coffee. He swallowed all protests and a little of his pride with a mouthful of some Italian-titled mix of ground coffee beans, cream and spices and slipped gratefully into her front passenger seat.

Rangiku was tapping away on her phone as he got in and said without looking up, "Listen. I know you don't want my help, or need it really, but the thing is, I'm very selfish. I'm doing this for me to reassure myself that I did not just permanently damage the brain of the son of one of the oldest, most powerful families in Japan so just bear with me for a few days, please?" She stopped her messaging to look up at him with a small smile.

Ah, so she had finally researched him. Byakuya took another gulp of the coffee and replied, "Don't let Shihouin Yoruichi rope you into anything else. She's a yokai."

Rangiku's brow furrowed in confusion a moment before she realised that he was joking and then she burst out laughing. It was a warm, infectious laugh and Byakuya let his lips turn up slightly at the corners before she finally managed to reply, tears glinting in her eyes, "She said you would say that."

Byakuya lifted an eyebrow at that, turning his head to her and asked, "What else did she tell you?"

"Oh, not much," said Rangiku, putting on her seatbelt to get going. "Just that when night falls you become a predator and that I should clear out of your apartment before that if I want to protect my virtue."

Byakuya nearly choked on his next sip and sputtered, "What?"

Rangiku laughed again, and replied, "Don't worry; I've been around predator types my whole life. I think I can handle you."

Byakuya hated how much his mind wanted to take her up on that unspoken, unintentional challenge, and said, "You have nothing to fear, Matsumoto-san. I have a project to complete and I am sure that you have your own duties."

"Yep, but Shihouin-san also said that you should rest all day today, and that it is my duty to keep you in bed or she will deduct points from my grades. So, as soon as I get you home, to bed!" she replied. She started the car, backed out of the park and they were on their way.

Byakuya barely noticed though, pondering over what she had just said and the creeping suspicion that she was not entirely as oblivious as she presented. Unless it was just his libido talking, there was definitely something suggestive in that last remark.

At his apartment building, he directed Rangiku to the underground parking and then led the way to the elevator that would take them to his condo. It was then that he noticed the very short skirt Rangiku was wearing, though she was also wearing thigh-high socks and boots, but those just made her very shapely legs stand out more. Of course she had been wearing something similar the night before, with a low-necked top and shiny gold necklace that drew the eyes directly to her breasts. He had only ignored it because of the accident but now he was beginning to see a pattern that he did not like. For one, his libido was very interested in what was going on beneath that pea coat.

When he let them into his apartment, Rangiku took control. She helped him remove his coat and ordered him directly to the sofa, while she took off her own and kicked off her shoes and then went directly to his kitchen. Byakuya tried to ignore the sound of her making herself familiar with the contents of his cupboards and then starting breakfast. How long was it since he had had a woman in his apartment doing that?

Well, there was Yoruichi the other day but she did not count.

"Hey, Kuchiki-san, do you have anything other than green tea?" asked Rangiku, walking into the living room with the box in her hands.

Byakuya looked over at her and then quickly back at the papers he had been withdrawing from his briefcase. So she had covered most of her cleavage in this top, a long-sleeved one with a high waist, and good lord, he was sexually objectifying her in the worst ways. She was trying to take care of him for the day, he had to remember that and ignore the fact that he could think very clearly of other ways for her to take care of him too. He cleared his throat and replied, "Yes, there's a small pantry in the hall."

"Okay," she said and walked away.

Byakuya took a deep breath and went back to his papers. He had a goal, a path clearly defined for him that he was going to see through to the end. One day he would stand as head of the company and family. In time, perhaps after another decade he would look for some young woman of suitable heritage to make his wife and produce the heir that would one day succeed him. He had hoped once that he had found that wife, in Hisana, but their ill-fated romance had destroyed that. And now Yoruichi expected him to _play_.

For someone who claimed to know him very well, Yoruichi clearly did not if she thought that it was possible for him to play. Byakuya was no fool. He knew himself to be someone passionate, caring, he fell in love quickly and deeply and wholly and because of that he tried to hold back, to stay away from others who might tempt his heart. And his heart was a traitorous, treacherous thing because it had noticed, despite his efforts not to, that in addition to being very beautiful and somewhat careless (and carefree), Rangiku was kind. She did not hesitate to help him, to volunteer to keep watch over him even though she knew that this was a set-up and she was doing it too.

At that moment he heard the kettle sound and then cut off and then the clink of ceramic as Rangiku arranged the tea service. Then she was walking back into the living room, watching her feet and taking careful steps to the coffee table. Byakuya moved the brief and papers and she set it down, and then breathed a happy sigh of relief as she settled unto the floor beside it. She looked up at him, smiling brightly but then her gaze fell on the papers beside him, "Hey, I thought Shihouin-san said you're supposed to be resting? You're not getting me into trouble with her you know."

She rose onto her knees to snatch it from him and instead fell forward. He only just managed to stop her from crashing into the table, rising out of his seat to catch her by the arms.

They both took a moment to breathe and then she looked up at him and said, "I'm a klutz, sorry. It's why Toshiro is always yelling at me...sorry, thank you."

Byakuya had drifted off into a daze, marvelling once again at her beauty. Then he blinked, released her and resumed his seat on the sofa. He also took up his papers again-not as a shield again, of course not-and said, "I have a lot of work to do. You don't have to stay."

Rangiku poured two cups of tea, took one up for herself and said, "Yoruichi says you're lonely. I don't see it. If you were you would have totally taken advantage of this by now."

"W-what?" Byakuya sputtered, looking up from his papers.

Rangiku was still stirring her tea and said without looking at him, "Anyway, I'm glad you didn't. I'm really only doing this out of the goodness of my heart."

"So you say," said Byakuya, still staring at her. "What would you have done if I tried?"

"Probably knee you in the groin and go home," she replied.

Byakuya could not help it. He snorted and said, "You're unbelievable."

This time she did look up and said with a wink, "I get that all the time, would you believe it? I have never figured out why. Listen, I know we did not meet under the best circumstances and there are currently people, by which I mean Yoruichi, actively trying to set us up...so how about this, friends?"

She extended her hand to him and after a moment he set aside his papers, took her hand and replied, "I don't see why not. Friends."

She grinned went back to her tea, leaving Byakuya to his papers and to wonder what on Earth he had just gotten himself into.


End file.
